The newest update for Ylands is finally here. Update 2.0: Adventure Awaits is a result of almost three years of work. Players can look forward to 90 features and should breathe a sigh of relief with almost 9,000 bugs squashed. This update has shifted the game from a "sandbox" to something like a full-blown "adventure."
The Redemption Arc
The work on this update took almost three years mainly because the development team wanted to shift the focus and perception of the game by undoing past mistakes. It had started to move in a Roblox-like direction until sometime in late 2020. This approach was unsuccessful since not only did the player base start to shrink but reviews dropped to almost 40% with negative comments pouring in.
Thus, the team re-assessed the goal and started to work on repairing the rifts between the game and players. These efforts began to pay off earlier this year when the game reached an all-time high rating of more than 80% in Steam Recent Reviews. Plus, the player base had quadrupled.
Going back, it was actually in 2020 when the redemption arc of Ylands took place, when Update 1.5: Enhancing Exploration was released. This update focused on the Exploration mode, which is now Adventure mode, and also kicked off the Era of Adventure.
While the success of Update 1.5 did motivate the team, it also opened new challenges. However, these were overcome by paying attention to what the community had to say. Indeed, it was through feedback that the game finally managed to find its proper voice, direction, and genre.
Some actions made since Update 1.5 include:
- Released 7 updates.
- Added 90 features to Adventure mode.
- Created 438 new assets.
- Closed 4048 tasks.
- Fixed 8598 bugs.
Adventure Awaits
Update 2.0 is so far the biggest update and marks a new era in its development. Highlights include:
- Lore
- The Classy Adventurers Guild and the first campaign-like yland.
- Improved tutorial:
- Smoother onboarding.
- New player UX.
- Handbook
- Helps players navigate the game and presents them with Ylands lore.
- Combat improvements, made more challenging and fun with:
- Stamina.
- Dashes.
- Power attacks.
- Assets and Crafting
- New and simpler interface that helps players craft literally anything.
- Terrain generation
- More diverse and more varied individual ylands.
- New main menu and shop:
- Easier.
- Less overwhelming.
- Simple to navigate.
- Mobile experience
- Quick game start with Google and Apple account logins, PC cross platform, and UX improvements.
- Multiple gameplay improvements and content:
- Sailing with wind.
- Easier fast travel.
- New random encounters.
Ylands is available on PC, Android, and iOS.
